The “Free” Payment Terminal Myth: What Veterinary Practices Should Look For

By: Merchant Advocate

A new payment terminal with no upfront price can sound like an easy decision for a veterinary practice. Your team needs a reliable way to collect payments, and the processor offers to provide the equipment for “free.” But the terminal’s price is only one part of what the practice will pay.

For practice managers, the better question is: What will the entire payment arrangement cost over time?

“Free” Equipment May Come with Conditions

A processor may provide a terminal at no upfront charge because it expects to earn revenue from your card transactions. Depending on the agreement, the offer may require the practice to maintain a processing account, meet a minimum volume, or stay with the service for a set period. The processor may also retain ownership of the terminal and require you to return it if the relationship ends.

“A free terminal can be a useful offer, but practice managers need to look at the terms attached to it,” says Scott Brandle, VHMA’s dedicated Merchant Advocate representative. “The processing fees on every client payment may matter far more than the equipment price.”

Those conditions do not automatically make the offer a bad deal. They do make it important to evaluate the full agreement.

Look Beyond the Terminal Price

Veterinary practices accept payments at the front desk, online, over the phone, and sometimes through cards kept on file. The cost of processing those payments can vary depending on how the card is accepted and how the merchant account is priced. Even a small difference in total processing costs can outweigh the value of a complimentary terminal.

For example, if a practice processes $500,000 in card payments annually, an additional quarter of a percentage point in processing costs would equal $1,250 a year, or $3,750 over three years. That is an illustration, not a prediction of what a particular offer will cost. It shows why the equipment price alone cannot tell you whether the arrangement is competitive.

“Ask for a written breakdown of percentage rates, per-transaction charges, and monthly fees,” Brandle says. “Then compare the total cost using your practice’s actual payment volume and transaction mix.”

Make Sure It Fits Your Practice

A terminal also needs to work with the way your team collects payments. Ask whether it integrates with your practice management system and which transactions that integration supports. A salesperson may say the terminal is integrated, but that does not necessarily mean every payment type will flow into your existing workflow.

Find out how the offer handles deposits, online payments, payments taken by phone, and cards kept on file. Ask what happens to stored payment information and integrations if you change equipment or processors later.

Clarify who owns the terminal. If the processor does, check whether you must return it, who pays for shipping, and whether a non-return fee applies. Review any contract term, early termination charge, minimum processing requirement, or monthly equipment or software fee.

Questions to Ask Before You Sign

• What will we pay in processing fees based on our current card volume and payment mix?
• Are there monthly, per-transaction, software, or equipment fees?
• Is there a contract term or minimum processing requirement?
• Who owns the terminal, and what happens if we change processors?
• Which payment types integrate with our practice management system?
• What will the arrangement cost over one, three, and five years?

“Free equipment may be the right choice for a practice,” Brandle says. “The key is understanding how it affects both your total costs and your team’s daily work before you sign.”

Merchant Advocate helps veterinary practices review processing costs and merchant service terms, identify potential savings, and monitor accounts for changes.